A Spiral Game : World's End and the Time Limit
by AruuYuda-ShoriKyuyu
Summary: The sadistic Time Master challenged humans, for several years, to his grand Game. Now, four teenagers fell in coma and, unknown to the real world, became part of the Game, trying to save the world from its cruel outcome, if they lose. But while they are in motion, humans fade away one by one, endangering their loved ones. "We should act fast... Before they disappear completely..."
1. Normality and the Beginning

_AruuYuda-ShoriKyuyu: This is inspired by the song "Spiral Game" by Miku, Len, Rin and Luka. The lyrics are so... Fuuu... Heh. And I won't use the Vocaloids' names much in this chapter. You could just guess from the hair colors. Haha. And, oh. This is set in the year 2020. Or whatever year you want. I just prefer thinking of this as the year 2020. _

_Warning: this chapter is kinda boring. No, it is boring. This is just some sneak-peeks of the main characters' lives. _=w= _And the fic itself has a future Len x Miku. Yeah. Yay for my Voca-OTP! *shot* And maybe perhaps, a little similar to my "This Cursed Loop" fanfic. Just a little, yeah._

* * *

_Four teenagers, four different lives._

_Four teenagers, one extraordinary game._

_Four teenagers – participants._

* * *

It was a peaceful city. Prosperous, as well. Futuristic, with efficient technology. The environment, as well, was also taken care of well. It was a perfect place to live in.

The citizens lived normal but ideal, healthy, happy lives.

* * *

"I'm off to school. Bye!"

A teal-haired girl kissed her mother goodbye.

"Take care, Miku-dear!"

With that, she ran out of her house, heading to her usual destination – school, stepping on the brick sidewalk, and running freely, her hair fluttering behind her. The spring wind blew. A book on her hand, opening it to where she last left her bookmark, she read the piece of literature, taking in the hidden meanings of the story, interpreting when she could.

Her older brother followed behind seconds later, but he overtook her since he was fast, and his legs were quite longer due to his height. Not that she cared.

Since the institution wasn't that far away, they reached it in a few minutes.

Ahead of them, there was one blonde girl skipping on the sidewalk as she went past the school gates. Another blond – a boy – was close to her, yelling a quite harsh "_hey!_".

Going past the school gates, the teal-haired girl noticed a pink-haired senior far away talking to a group of students.

It was just them that she took notice of, since just like her and her brother, they had odd hair colors. There were also some others that weren't present, but it wasn't that important to notice them anyways. Also, she didn't know them. Even those whom she looked at.

She waved at her brother, sending a goodbye-message, and ran straight to her own classroom according to her schedule.

Minutes later, the school was flooded by many students, voices and footsteps on the school grounds ringing in the air.

Minutes later, classes commenced, voices of instructors either keeping students alert or asleep, mumblings about difficulty from students, sounds of flipping of papers present in various rooms.

Hours later, it was lunch time. Roars of laughter, clanging of ladles against pots and plates and conversations resounded in the cafeteria.

* * *

"Hey Rin, you passed the test last week?"

A blonde girl looked up lazily at her friend – a shaggy, navy blue-haired boy, diverting her attention away from her meal. "You talking about that _trash_?" she asked rather rudely, emphasizing the last word. "You can call it 'somewhat yes, somewhat no'."

"Borderline, you mean? You neither passed nor failed, eh?"

"Yup."

The navy-haired boy sat down on the seat in front of her and set down his tray. "You're lucky..." He played with the ice cubes in his glass of soda using his straw, swirling it. He put his fist under his chin, sighing. "I totally failed! Thirty outta hundred."

"No way!" the girl exclaimed, nearly jumping off her seat.

"Yes way! It was really terrible! Thanks to my absence in class the whole week before the test, dammit! I was sick with terrible flu, and I couldn't even stand up!"

"Poor you..." the girl said, contorting her face in pity. "What was your dad's reaction?"

"He was totally angry! I'll be the one to wash the dinner plates for a whole month," he sighed.

"Oh, chores. Golly, I _hate_ them," the girl said. She sipped her orange juice from its carton box, making a face of disgust. "But you were freaking sick. How could he be so angry!"

"He's just that. And, you also know how I despise chores, as well." He poked the pasta noodles with his fork.

"But strangely... Come to think of it, if I'm in the mood, I like washing plates..."

"You hypocrite," the boy mumbled mockingly, grinning slightly.

Upon pronouncing those syllables, he earned a whack with an orange fruit from the girl on his head.

* * *

"Excuse me, Megurine-san."

A pretty pink-haired girl felt a finger tap her shoulder, asking for her attention. She turned around and gave a smile. "Yes?"

"I would like to ask you a favor, but I think I might be bothering you," the person said, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't, Hiyama-san!"

The boy – a short-haired brunet wearing spectacles – sighed in relief. "I'm very sorry, but would you check the inventory list of the new books in the library? I'm quite busy scheduling the events for the Sports Festival next week..."

Being a Student Council officer was quite tiring, the girl knew. But then, she didn't have anything to do after her current assignment, so she agreed at the President's favor.

"Ah, no problem! And, what time must the checking of the list be finished?"

The boy looked at his watch, strapped around his left wrist. "Three-thirty. You have an hour and a half left. The librarian would be back by that time, and he wants to put them on the shelves immediately upon his return. I think he's just lazy inventorying, but keep that a secret from him," he grinned.

"Don't worry. I also see him like that. It has been his third time requesting to the Council the checking of the list of new books, huh," she chuckled lightly. "Sure, I'll get it done sooner."

"Thank you very much!"

The boy nodded and turned away. The girl looked down at the pile of folders in her arms. She raised them up and mounted them upon the shelf above her.

* * *

"More power, Kagamine!"

A harsh intake of oxygen, and a blond, lean and toned boy put his legs against the tiled wall, and he gave a great push, propelling himself through the cold waters of the pool.

Three dolphin-kicks, and he was meters away from his starting point. He swept his arms, down the water, slightly under him, bending his elbows, and swept it sideways, back forward, going back to its straight form, executing a perfect butterfly stroke.

Another two kicks, and a stroke, he was away again.

It only took him a few strokes to reach the end.

Emerging from underwater, he gave a brief hack and breathed to clear his airways. He took off the goggles from his eyes and blinked water out of them.

"Now, that's better. Your training ends for today," a man – the instructor, said, smiling.

"Thank you, Coach Yuma!" the boy grinned. He exited the pool, and went straight to the showers. Finally cleaning himself of the chlorine water, he dressed in his school uniform and kept his swimming apparatus shut inside his designated locker.

Exiting the swimming arena, he waved goodbye back at his coach and as he finally set foot on the school hallways, he stretched.

Being a member of the Sports Club was tiring thanks to the training sessions – he joined it because he could do many things. Joining only one team wouldn't be fun. At least in his current club, he was versatile, and he liked it. He could be put in the basketball team for a match against other schools if the main Basketball Club needed players, he could be a table tennis player, anything. But he was best at basketball and swimming.

Despite the training he underwent, he wasn't tired at all. Yes, being a member of the Club was tiring, but since he enjoyed it, the exhaustion was nothing to him anymore.

Going back to his classroom, he went to his desk and retrieved his own bag, slinging it over his shoulder. He got out of the classroom.

He walked through the hallways not much filled with students and, turning to a corner, found the school shoe-lockers. He opened his own and took out his outdoor black shoes. Taking off his white indoor shoes, he put on his outdoor ones and returned the indoor ones in the locker.

He walked out of the school building, at the school grounds, and past the huge gates.

"Ahh," he breathed out. "_At last, I can go home and play video games and read manga and do many more things! Weekend, here I come!_" he mentally yelled, physically fist-pumping and grinning. _"But I wish Rin wouldn't bother me..."_

* * *

_They didn't know each other, save for the two blonds, who were siblings._

* * *

The sky was covered with grey clouds. A slightly cold wind blew, and moderate rain fell over this city. The asphalt roads were dark grey due to how wet they were, and the plants were glistening dark green. Faraway buildings and people walking on the streets, stepping on water puddles, were just hazy silhouettes in one's eyes.

_Pitter, patter..._

_Drip..._

In a house, a teal-haired girl leaned against the glass window of her bedroom, which was just close to her own bed, where she was sitting on. She was watching the water droplets slide against the glass – a pretty sight, though simple. She was mentally hosting a droplet-race.

She was looking for an inspiration to draw a rainy scene on paper, and then, after the "race" ended, she reverted back to her activity, picking up her pencil and sketchbook, slowly and carefully forming shapes with light pencil strokes, creating highlights by erasing parts softly.

Forming a beautiful scene, she smiled. She then proceeded to add four little silhouette people – one of them a little more detailed than the rest – in the rain, under their umbrellas, to complete the sweet, rainy town sidewalk scenery.

She sighed in contentment.

After she sighed, she felt a little dizzy. There was a faint hammering on her head. Though she didn't mind it. Perhaps she just lacked sleep due to school, homework, projects and other miscellaneous things.

She stood up to get a glass of water downstairs, exiting her room.

Reaching the staircase, the headache worsened, making her clutch her head. Her eyesight became a little blurry. She must get perhaps some paracetamol as well to go with her water.

Though, going down a single step, her world turned hazy, up to the point it turned grey, to black, to absolutely nothing. A _thud _and a "_H-hey_" from her brother behind her, she recognized, was the last thing she heard.

"_MIKU!"_

* * *

_AruuYuda-ShoriKyuyu: Yay. Cliffhanger! Reviews, please? I would appreciate it!_


	2. Their Awakening and the Time Master

_AruuYuda-ShoriKyuyu: While I'm still powered up and inspired... Here is your second chapter!_

* * *

The teal-haired girl's eyes moved under closed eyelids. She heard the ticking of the clock's hands, which strangely sounded like the vintage grandfather clock. From what she knew, there weren't any grandfather clocks in her room.

Her eyes opened wide upon the vintage clock's bell rang.

_Ding..._ came the deep ring, followed by a deeper and fuller _dong..._

She sat up and squinted as the brightly-lid surroundings hurt her turquoise eyes, making her seethe. Slowly lowering her arms, which was in front of her head to block the intense light, and opening her eyes, she gasped.

Where was she?

_'Where am I...?'_

It was all white. There was nothing. It was a room of _bright nothingness_. Even though frantically scanning the space for any sign of life or anything, there was nothing. She was all _alone_. Even the clock which she just heard bellowing wasn't there. The space around her seemed to be so wide, it seemed endless, boundary-less._ Infinite_.

She stood up from her spot. She was just lying on a blank white space all along. She looked at herself. Judging from the surroundings, she expected herself to be in white, as well, but no, she wasn't. She was wearing casual clothes to her surprise.

"W-where am I?" she asked a little louder. She looked down, seeing her shadow. Her hair was tied up neatly in twin-tails, contrary to her first thought that she looked like an ill person.

From some books she read, the characters who saw themselves in blank space were often dead. Her initial thought was that she was already so.

"Am I...already..."

She couldn't pronounce the word. She gulped.

"...d-_dead_?"

She turned around, checking again for anything else or anybody else besides her. _Nothing_. Then she turned around again, only to see a boy appear in a gradient – top to bottom. He fully appeared, laying flat on the white ground.

The girl flinched at the sight. Suddenly, someone appeared, and you were all alone. Appearing like that was a supernatural thing. She knew that it was utterly impossible. A strange thing. She felt like it was some sort of negative fantasy, a horrible fantasy of being _dead._ Though she felt alive, strangely.

Staring a little longer at the blond boy, she suddenly thought, '_Wait... Did I come here like...that?'_

She stepped towards the boy, careful not to get farther than half a meter away from him, because she was wearing a fairly short skirt (to be _safe_, since he was a boy and she was a girl), and so that he wouldn't hit her if he woke up with a great reaction of surprise. She knelt down.

Since she was closer in proximity, she could examine him better. Strangely enough, he seemed familiar, though she didn't know him personally.

The boy seemed to squint in his sleep, but after that, his eyes abruptly opened widely. Like her, he was taken aback by the sudden intrusion of the brightness in his eyes.

"Ack..."

Seconds later, the boy's head turned towards her, and he gasped in surprise, sitting up as fast as the blink of an eye. The girl flinched at the gasp, which was quite high-pitched.

"Umm-"

"_Who_ are you?" asked the boy, cutting her off rather sharply. "And what are you doing? Where am I?"

The girl gave a slight frown. "Please calm down. I don't even know what I am doing here, in this unknown place, too..."

The boy raised his eyebrow. The girl...how could she appear so calm in this situation? "How can I keep calm when everything seems _suspicious?!_"

The girl sighed. "Forgive me. Actually, I just woke up, too. And all I remember is that... I collapsed and saw nothing."

The boy looked up at her, cerulean eyes glistening. "What? You too? I also collapsed, then the next thing I knew was that I'm...here."

Strange. Two people who collapsed were in the same place.

"Are we dead already?"

The boy reached out his right arm, extending his slender index finger. He suddenly poked the cheek of the girl.

"Hey!"

"But, you seem pretty solid and warm... Still flesh... From what I normally read, the dead are _'translucent and cold', _and that they wear white clothes... But here I am! Wearing a hat like I'm a _hipster_!" the boy went.

"But there's no way of proving it," returned the girl. The boy huffed and pouted. Yes, he knew. He was just...thinking randomly.

"You know what, you seem familiar..." the words escaped from the tealette's lips involuntarily. Realizing it, she cupped her mouth with her hand, mumbling a '_woops_'.

She was still doubting it – the boy she was thinking of had a short, neat ponytail. But this boy had shoulder-length hair. Okay, he had a tiny ponytail, but still...

"You too, strangely," came the boy's voice. "Where do you study?"

"Crypton Hi-"

"That's why! You're a freaking schoolmate!"

Then, this time, everything became stranger. Two schoolmates who collapsed were all alone together in an unknown place that was suspicious. What happened, they didn't know.

"Your name?"

"Miku Hatsune. Class 2-A. You?"

"Len Kagamine, 1-C. Nice to meet you."

Since they already had small talk, exchanged names and that they had the same experiences, they felt much more comfortable than before. At least, if anything happened at all, there was a companion. They were all alone together.

_Or were they?_

A few seconds later, another figure appeared like how the boy appeared. The boy stiffened at the sight.

"I saw you like that, Len..."

The newcomer was finally solid, and the boy gasped as he recognized the person.

_His annoying younger twin sister._

What on earth was she doing here?

Len quickly knelt down and shook the girl vigorously at her shoulder, forcing her to wake up.

"Hey Rin, wake up! Wake _up_!" he seethed. The blonde girl stirred and groaned, but when the tealette felt that the poor girl was quite aggravated by the violent quake, she yelled really loud (_"Stop it, dammit!"_) and sat up, punching the boy at the shoulder, as well.

"OUCH!"

"You trying to annoy me, punk?" the girl asked, raising up a closed fist prepared to give another punch, but then she suddenly relaxed, looking at the white surroundings and the teal-haired girl behind her brother.

She gasped.

"Where _am_ I?!"

The tealette waved her hands, pleading for her to calm down. "Please relax... We don't kno-"

However, she got cut off by another person appearing slowly. The blonde girl, horrified, gave a sort of a combination of a whimper and a gasp, and almost scurried away as the magically-appearing person finally materialized.

Though, curiosity dominated her, and she stayed rooted on the blank white floor until the newcomer – a pink-haired girl – woke up the way the tealette and the blond boy did.

"Ah!" the pink-haired girl gasped. A droplet of sweat seemed to trickle down her forehead. She sat up and looked up at the other three teenagers. "I think I just heard a clock's ticking and chiming..."

The three stiffened. They also _heard_ it right before they all woke up, but there were no clocks around, and humans couldn't imitate their sounds perfectly.

"Wasn't she one of the Student Cou-"

"Um, where are we?" the newcomer asked, looking around the endless space.

"We don't know, eith-"

A tenor _ding_ interrupted her explanation, followed by a deep, full _dong_. The tealette and the blonds stood still, while the pink-haired girl stood up slowly, listening at the clock's deep chime.

Miku turned to the others – Len first, but she gasped and stared longer at him, making him feel a little uncomfortable.

"What is it?"

"Something _black_ is being reflected in your eyes..."

Indeed, his cerulean eyes had some sort of a shadow of, perhaps, a man with a great, sadistic-looking grin.

"Y-you too, Miku..." he nervously said, after taking a good examination of her as well. He also glanced at the others. "Them, as well..."

_Why?_

The white world slowly turned grey, and the four teenagers' heads ached. The grey world shifted to black like somebody invisible painted it with paint-brushes. A gust of harsh wind blew, and the four raised their arms defensively in front of their faces and stayed firm on the ground, trying not to be blown away.

"Wha-"

The clock's chimes got louder in volume, and it made the four cover their ears.

A few seconds later, the chimes halted with a fade and the white world returned, but there was a silhouette of an extravagantly-cloaked tall man whose long hair was flowing smoothly. A staff with what seemed to be a gem on the top was on his right hand.

He turned around, the cloak rippling around him, flowing.

"Ah, all the _chosen ones_, all awake, at last," he said. His voice was handsome and smooth, booming, echoing in the room of nothingness. "Welcome to the _Game_."

The four teenagers looked at each other with confusion written all over their faces._ Game? What game? _They felt the cloaked stranger smile.

"Perhaps, perhaps..." he said in a sing-song way, "you are curious about what this _'Game'_ is?"

"It isn't _'perhaps'_, Captain _Weirdo_, but we are sure curious about that thing. And we aren't very happy with that," the blonde girl, Rin, said rather crudely.

"Respect the Time Master," bellowed the stranger, raising his staff and hitting it on the floor with a loud clank. "Would you like me to make you suffer more?"

Rin stiffened. "What?"

The stranger, seemingly happy with how she reacted, gave a triumphant "_hmph_". "I chose you to be players of my Game – a matter of life or death, and you have no choice but to join, or else, you will cause the world's end. One step back, and it will happen _right now_."

The four teenagers' eyes widened in fear.

_Do not move..._

_No..._

_This is a dream, right?_

"You could tell me now if you want to back down. I could end the world with a snap of my fingers," the stranger said, raising his hand. "You'd better speak up quickly, or else, your families would _fade away_."

"No, you're joking!" Len screamed, sweat trickling down his forehead, his heartbeat quickening.

"I'm not," the stranger announced in an amused voice.

"Prove it," Miku challenged.

Upon saying those words, their present world swirled around them, changing to black, making them dizzy again.

Next thing they knew, they were back to their own _real_ world – inside their city hospital's hallways.

"What are we doing here?" the pink-haired girl asked. She walked around the area, touching the dirty white walls with her right hand, but to her surprise, her hands went _through_ them, as if she were a ghost.

She retracted her hand quickly, surprised at the effect.

"Hey, guys... It went t-through..."

Miku turned around to the other girl, as well as the two blonds. "What went through?"

"M-my hand..."

The girl demonstrated it, and it left the three of them appalled by the sight.

"We're going crazy..." Len mumbled, cerulean eyes widening.

"Hey, you haven't told us your name yet... Uh, forgive us, even though we know that you're one of the members of the Student Council of Crypton High..." Rin said.

"It's Luka. Luka Megurine..."

The four strolled down the hallway, until they reached the emergency room, which had a transparent window on the wall. The curtains were carelessly left not drawn close, and it allowed them to peek.

They saw themselves in separate beds, sleeping, pale, oxygen masks on their faces, scratches – not moving at all.

"What happened?"

Their families were weeping near their beds.

The hospitalized Len and Rin's beds were next to each other, and their parents were sniffling and wailed in agony. The mother stroked the girl's pale hand with her thumb in circles, while the father gripped the bedsheets of the boy's bed as he cried. His spectacles were misted by tears.

"Dad..."

"Mom..."

The hospitalized Miku was two beds away from the siblings. Her brother was cracking his knuckles as he wept, streams of tears on his rosy cheeks. Her mother was standing, her right elbow resting on her left arm. Her hand was against her forehead while she cried and gritted her teeth. Her father was comforting the wife by patting her back. Tears fell slowly from his glassy light-blue eyes.

"Mom! Dad! Mikuo!" Miku called out, but it seemed like they weren't heard. Even some of the nurses that passed by them didn't hear nor notice them. She bit her lower lip, not wanting to break down and cry, though she couldn't hold her tears back. _"I'm here..."_

The unconscious Luka was on the opposite side. Her younger brother, aged seven, was watching her slow breathing in fear – fearing her death, fearing that her heartbeat might stop in any second. Her mother was there, head buried in her arms, resting on the bed's side.

Her father wasn't there – he was overseas.

Luka's fingers, which were against the glass window, slid down. Tears slid down her cheeks.

"_What happened?"_ they all asked in unison.


	3. The Rules and the Game's Start

_AruuYuda-ShoriKyuyu: Erm... Wow, five follows. What was interesting here, I wonder? *shot*_

_And, oh. Imagine them wearing the clothes they wore in the song's PV._

* * *

"_What happened?"_

In the hospital hall, the voice of the stranger, who claimed himself to be the Time Master, echoed as he spoke, though he wasn't there. Not even his silhouette.

"What do you remember that happened to you?"

They thought.

"_I collapsed..." _each of them said to themselves. It seemed that even though they didn't say it verbally, the stranger heard it.

"An effect of my choosing of players – you have collapsed and fell in a deep, restful sleep. What a way to rest your tired bodies!" he said, voice amused. "Your bored souls would enjoy my grand, well-thought game!"

It was not very nice and thoughtful of him to be amused when their current situation was _that_ horrible. Judging from the scene before themselves and the Time Master's statement, they were just souls that escaped their own bodies, because they were called.

Len straightened up, wiped his tears away from his eyes and yelled.

"WHY _US?!_"

They felt the Master smirk. "I have been playing with older humans, and it became quite mundane. So I chose younger ones. I chose the four of you – a combination of different personalities, living in one interesting area. One a man of sport, one gentle and kind-hearted, one boisterous and expressive, and one a genius."

"_We will see who of these personalities will survive this game," _he finished in a sing-song way. The four teenagers felt their stomachs twisting and turning into ice, though they already knew that they were just _souls_ now.

A game – a game of _life_ and _death_ among the four. A dreadful game, however, they couldn't back down. It was already said that once they do, the world will end.

_It would end, literally._

All they could do was gulp and shake in fear.

The boisterous player inhaled and spoke up, not wanting to be idle and probably start the world's end if they didn't react quickly.

"What is the game's mechanics?" she asked, voice firm.

The world around them swirled and turned back to white, which wasn't surprising for the four anymore.

"I'm glad that you opted to join now, even though I know you are just forced to because you know you couldn't back down," the stranger said, his silhouette figure appearing from far away, walking towards them, but his real face couldn't be seen.

They were still doubting whether this was just an imagination, given the fact that he was just a silhouette.

"Because _you_ forced us, damnit!" Rin yelled.

"As for the rules," the stranger went, not paying attention to the blonde's reactions, "You are to collect the hundred dark ghosts that I set free. They possessed various people in the world."

_The world? It would be too hard!_

"You will be able to see them, don't worry, since you are currently just mere _ghosts_. You are to complete your mission before the time limit I would set."

_Time limit?_

"How could we get all of them when they're scattered all around the world? And what do we do to secure one?" Miku asked. She might be a genius, but she believed her whole life that the supernatural wasn't real. Therefore, she didn't know how this would work.

"You will, without any warning, be transferred in different places. I will give you small daggers to be used to cut off their heads."

"_Psh._" Len raised his eyebrow and smirked. "Daggers are _so_ 1800's."

"You don't have anything to use, you insolent fool," the Time Master returned.

"Don't we have something to put the ghosts somewhere?" Luka asked.

"You don't have to. Once their heads are cut off, they will go straight back to their own, say, _prison cells_. They may be ghosts, but you couldn't pass your hands through them like what you think. They're _solid_."

Len's eyes widened. "Ah! That's why you feel solid, Miku!" he whispered – nearly a seethe, turning to the tealette. "I poked you, remember?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Lastly – I would warn you that those ghosts fight back, hence the '_who would survive and win this game_'. You could die. But I won't say 'good luck', because I made this game. Use your knowledge. The game will end in a year. Also..."

They waited for his continuation as they felt him chuckle and smirk.

"_While you four are in motion, they die._"

Abruptly, a clanging sound rang in the air – seemingly, the Time Master hit his staff on the floor – and the bright white space around them spun around them, turning to a canvas of hazy colors, mostly green and grey. They felt their heads ache. Next thing they knew, they were back to their city, and the headaches subsided.

They were standing by the city's heart – the city's marble and porcelain fountain.

There were people around them, walking by them, past them, but they didn't notice the four teenagers.

"Eh?"

Rin tried to skip around, wave at people's faces, but how they continued walking past them confirmed that they couldn't see nor feel them. They became just mere _ghosts_, since their awakening in the white world.

"You know what..." Luka started, voice soft and uncertain. The other three turned towards her.

"What is it, Luka-chan?" Rin asked.

"Did you hear what the Time Master said before we got here?" she asked, looking up at the three with curious eyes.

"Oh" was all Len said in response. He nodded.

"I wonder who are _they_..." Luka mused, but a little loud for them to hear.

"'_While you four are in motion, they die...' _the Master said. Who will die?" Miku asked, putting her fist under her chin, trying to think.

"Yo! Look over here!" Len called after a few seconds. The two were snapped out of their thoughts as they heard his slightly high-pitched voice summoning them.

"It seems that, like in some supernatural media, the daggers the old man told us about went straight into our pockets," the blond boy announced, taking one out of his trouser's pocket.

It looked brand-new, though plain. A normal dagger. A black handle and a shiny, silver blade.

"The Master said that that is the only weapon we will use to catch those ghosts, right?" Rin asked. She felt her own pocket, and took out hers. "Oh! Mine's here!"

Len suddenly took his free hand up, and without warning, injured his free hand's pinky with a brief swipe of the blade, which left a small cut with little droplets of blood oozing.

"Len!" Rin yelled.

Len awkwardly grinned. "I'm guessing this only cuts through ghosts, and not humans..." He patted his cut with his clothes, letting it dry.

The three girls sighed. Luka and Miku found their own daggers in their skirt pockets.

"Why does it have to be us? I mean, there are lots of other people..." Luka said.

_Ding... Dong..._

There came that sound, but they didn't know where it came from.

Little did they know it was the start of the Master's timer which was on his hands, and they were the only ones who could hear it.

* * *

=:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:=

_[Time Left] _

= 365d : 19h =

_[Players' Status]_

= Luka Megurine =

_Captured_: 0

_Status_: Alive

= Miku Hatsune =

_Captured_: 0

_Status_: Alive

= Len Kagamine =

_Captured_: 0

_Status_: Alive

= Rin Kagamine =

_Captured_: 0

_Status_: Alive

=:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:=

* * *

_We wouldn't want us to turn to "Deceased", "Injured" or "Immobile", and we _would_ complete this game – capture all hundred ghosts – before the time limit reaches "00d:00h:00s", to prevent the world from ending._

_Who are _"they"_ who will die, as we are in motion? _

_We then turned around, only to see one of the people around us disappear without any warning. Like a gust of wind, suddenly blowing, that person disappeared._

"Did...you just...see that, guys...?"

_Our questions were answered. While we were moving around, one person would disappear without warning. Die. And no one wouldn't remember them. Even evidences of their existence were erased, as shown by how even what the person carried around or wore vanished in thin air._

_Nonpersons. Unpersons. _

_All we could think of was one thing..._

_Our families... Our friends..._

* * *

_AruuYuda-ShoriKyuyu: Yeeeaaah. I'm so boring. Huehue. Anyways, the last parts were the four's thoughts, collectively. Like, they're thinking of the same things. And the players' stats were just nothing... Hehe... _

_And at the last part, I was thinking of Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell... Hence, the "unpersons" part. *flips table*_

_Anyways, reviews, please! _owo


	4. Disappearances and the First Capture

_AruuYuda-ShoriKyuyu: Late update, haha. Being busy...busy... Sorry... Haha._

* * *

"I mean..._damn it!_ I saw it!"

Rin Kagamine, the boisterous' legs, as well as her voice, were visibly trembling in fear. "What's with this game?!"

_What was the Time Master's reason for initiating this game?_ – the question was running in their minds after they saw an innocent person fade away, vanish in thin air. They knew from understanding and observation that the deaths would be the element to drive the players to finish the game, but why did the unaware have to be involved? There could be other driving factors not involving others' lives, right?

At that point in thinking, they finally deduced that the Master was _sadistic_ – a lover of seeing gore and letting others feel _pain _and _suffering_, and he enjoyed intricate games. Combining those two, they got this _Game_.

The Master also pointed out that he already had this Game started years ago. Then, this game was a sort of "time loop", with _him_ the controller. He was the _Time Master,_ so he was responsible for that.

This was a _spiral _game – a game starting every time the Master wanted to. _Spiral_, synonymous to_ "chaotic", _synonymous to _"world's end"_.

They had a time limit set, right? They didn't know how much time were left, save for the fact that they have a _year_ left. As for what _hour_ the next year on the same day the game would end, they had no idea. The Master might, or could, be fickle, but they held on to the hope that it would end on the same hour they started.

But they had to capture a hundred dark ghosts in a year, and unaware people would disappear one-by-one as they went around, which meant that they had to hurry.

_Just how many people vanished at this moment?_

"Hey, will you freak out when you're suddenly teleported to another place like what that Master said?" Len asked. The three girls turned towards him.

"I...don't know," was Miku's reply. "Maybe I would, if we're all _separated_..."

They all fell downcast at that thought. They probably would freak out – they didn't have other people to interact with and share their troubles with. They were now mere ghosts. No other people could see them. No other people know of their problems. No other people know that their lives were at stake.

"Anyways, w-we have to hurry, don't you think?" Luka asked, trying to smile (but that smile had a visible tinge of worry), trying to lighten up the mood, even just a _little_. The others nodded, though a little solemnly.

"Let's just go," Miku said, taking up the role of the group's leader, because no one voluntarily spoke up to tell them what to do first. Maybe the others wanted to, but they were a little bit shy to announce instructions.

Luka was part of the Student Council, the tealette remembered, but then she was a little soft, she noticed. She didn't seem to know that she was the others' top choice of being the real leader, and perhaps the pink-haired girl wasn't that confident in being one. The President of the Council mostly did the talking on everyone in the Council's behalf to the student body without any copy of his speech.

When the President ever became unable to deliver his words due to some circumstances, he would send pages of his speech to Luka, his classmate, and she would deliver it.

Though stepping up to finally tell them what to do, Miku didn't acknowledge the "leader" title. It was just to keep the order within them. There would be no actual title nor hierarchy. They were all the same. _Equals_. If any one of them claimed the title, or any title, _arrogantly_, it would be much more unorganized and chaotic. Their situation would be much worse.

At that point, she remembered the book she read which title was _"Lord of the Flies"_. She mentally sighed in relief knowing that no one in the group was greedy nor arrogant.

"Len-kun, you take the west side of the city," the tealette called out as they ran. "Rin-chan, you're to go to the south. Luka-san, you're north. I'll take the east side. You can also scan the rest of the city after you're done with your assigned place to make sure. That would speed up our search before the Master decides to throw us to another place."

The three nodded as they agreed, and they went separate ways. _That would speed up our search before thousands of innocent people disappear._

Miku ran towards the east side, going around the city fountain, not even looking at the directory board near one highway corner because she memorized every single highway, avenue, alleyway and building of the city, thanks to the number of years she had been living in there.

The boots she wore (_why did she even wear this kind of clothes while she's, say, currently in the supernatural world? They were way too casual..._) gave out a tapping sound as she sprinted on the cemented sidewalk. _Living_ people didn't seem to hear it because no one turned their heads and looked curiously at her direction.

Come to think of it... She's actually _living_. Her human body is just in coma...

Stopping at a corner she glanced left-and-right to look for any creatures not supposed to be there – the ghosts they were supposed to drive away. Or kill. Whatever that word was, Miku didn't bother to think of that.

There was nothing. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing unnatural, nothing "dark". She shrugged her shoulders and continued sprinting, going to the left side.

She saw the traffic lights going up to green, and the cars sped past her, making them look like dark-colored speeding blurs. At the corner of her eye, she saw a child _disappear_, along with the toy figurine he held onto, as well as his clothes, much to Miku's intense frustration and anger. A child! A _child!_ An innocent toddler got involved! His identity became erased from this world!

_That sadistic Time Master... _If she could, she wanted to rattle the Master's head and aim severe blows at it. She cared much for children, especially, for they were much fun, and that damned Master had to make her feel pained seeing a child vanish in the air.

Seeing that disappearance, she further sprinted, the soles of her boots hitting harder on the cement-and-gravel sidewalk in a hurry, her desire to finish the damn game and finally have her hands gripping around the Master's neck strengthening every step. Tears threatened to spill out of the corner of her eyes, but she dared not. She didn't like crying. She knew that crying is kind of a must to release her emotions, but she didn't like appearing to be weak in the eyes of the others.

Meanwhile at the west, Len felt the same after seeing another person – an elderly woman who still seemed to be active – disappear. Turning away from a corner of a street, he skidded as he stopped in his tracks as he clicked his tongue.

There was one of the dark ghosts, close to a middle-aged man who was completely unaware and talking to somebody over the phone. The ghost looked like a mere silhouette of a man. He recalled "_Slenderman_" without those freaky miscellaneous things at his back. The ghost's sly red eyes scanned the city streets, seemingly searching for a suitable prey. His slouching posture, however, made him look like he was easy to take away. The problem was that he, and the other players of the Game, didn't _know_ what the ghosts exactly did. _Did they eat_ people like what he usually saw in video games or any other media? _Possess_ them and make a ruckus? What? They didn't really know. All the Master told them that they were wicked, and that they needed to be sent back to where they should be – their "prisons".

With that note, plus the fact that the Time Master was sadistic, they kept in their minds that they were possibly – no, really – dangerous.

"Whoa, a tall one..." Len muttered. He wondered whether the strength he obtained from all his sport trainings would be a match against the supernatural being.

"LEN!" a voice called out. He knew that voice. It was his twin sister.

"That was a quick search, Rin. Did you skip? I bet you are too lazy-"

At that, he earned a hit at his head with her bare hand, which was fairly painful, as expected from the most energetic in the group (he wasn't the most energetic. He reserved his energy for sports or when it was really necessary). Len rubbed his head and seethed.

"Dammit, I am NOT lazy! I just didn't see anything!"

"Well, here we finally have one," Len announced, holding out a hand towards the ghost's spot.

"DON'T GO AROUND KIDDI- Oh. My. GOSH! It's freakin' REAL!"

Her loud voice attracted the dark ghost. Its head quickly turned towards the twins, and it made the blonde girl gulp in fear.

"You twit, you shouldn't have called out!" Len seethed, sweat trickling down his forehead.

* * *

A yell rang in the air, which made Luka, searching at the north side, turn towards the source of the sound. The yell didn't seem to disturb any people around.

She recognized the tone of the yell. It was Rin's – high-pitched with her own strong and "active" voice. Whatever happened to her? Did she come across a ghost? Luka looked around her. She was near the west side's painted street border, which meant that she already scanned the whole north only to find nothing. She considered running towards the siblings' whereabouts.

How about Miku at the east? Was she doing fine? Just as that thought crossed her mind, she saw Miku running towards her. She looked a little bit exhausted. Perhaps she ran all that time?

She did. As she came closer, Luka noticed the droplets of sweat on her forehead and neck.

"Did you hear Rin?"

Luka nodded. "I did. She seems to be in trouble. Let's go there?"

Miku briefly nodded and started to sprint, not complaining of her exhaustion. Luka tagged behind her, running as well. They crossed the street paint-border.

They ran past a bank, a boutique, and five more establishments. As they reached the front of a cafe, they saw Rin jumping and running around in fear whenever the ghost brushed past her as it tried to dodge. Len, dagger on hand, attempted to get the creature wounded on any part, charging forward and slashing the weapon.

"RIN!" both girls called out. They had their daggers prepared on their dominant right hands.

Rin, upon hearing the call, looked at both of them in a little bit of relief, but her teeth were visibly chattering.

"L-lookie what we g-got here..." she said, a shaking finger lifting up to point at the quick and agile ghost. Luka flapped a hand to make Rin come to them. The blonde girl ran, leaving the boy.

"How 'bout that bastard brother of mine who just attacks without thinking?" she asked.

"I'll just assist Len," Miku said. Luka and Rin nodded. "Luka, please just back me up when I ever fail."

Without waiting for the pink-haired girl's reply, Miku ran, taking out her own dagger from her skirt pocket. She tried running around the ghost and going behind it and steadying, but the ghost was hyperactive! She clicked her tongue.

"Len!" she called out. "Lure him to you!"

She saw the blond boy's face contort in shock. He mouthed "_what the heck_", but then he started dancing like a crazy monkey in an attempt to make the tall ghost run to him.

"Yoo-hoo _Slendy_!" the boy shouted out.

At the "bleachers" – from where Luka and Rin was watching, they had their faces wrinkle as they irked.

"Why did that idiot call him Slendy?"

Returning to the main scene, Len was executing a jumping-jack, sweating in the process. The ghost was finally running towards him, red eyes glaring in a mix of anger and determination to get his dark hands on him and devour him.

Miku, standing far in front of Len, was tense, her eyes narrowed in analysis. Her hand was trembling a little, as well as the dagger gripped tightly by her right one. This was the only time she would analyze something while feeling this way. Before she was dragged into this Game, she solved conflicts or thought of matters calmly. But it was lost this time. Maybe if she got used to this, she would regain her usual composure.

Her aquamarine eyes were focused at the tall ghost.

_Since the monster wasn't paying attention to her anymore...it was easy. _She realized that she didn't have to think of this as a complicated case...

"How–"

Smoke consisting of black, purple and red streaks emerged slowly from where the ghost was hit with the blade – its spinal area. The ghost let out a low groan as it collapsed on the ground, landing with a _thud, _making the tealette hiss in triumph. She hit it!

After a few seconds, the smoke, as well as the dark ghost, dispersed in the air, like dust blown away by the harsh wind. The dagger which she threw at it dropped on the ground with a _clank_ as the ghost finally disappeared. Len refrained from his luring-act and stared at where the ghost was, panting softly because of his exercise that contributed to the first victory. Rin and Luka joined the two, blinking at the scene before them in a mix of amazement and nervousness.

"Wow, Miku-nee..." Rin said. "You can throw daggers...pr...pre...what was that word...?" she asked, the word about to be said forgotten, resting at the end of her tongue. "Gah, I easily forget too fancy words..."

"'Precisely', you mean?" Luka suggested. She turned to Miku and smiled, giving a thumb-up.

"Yes! That's it! And," the blonde girl turned at the tealette. "It's amazing!"

Miku gave a sheepish grin, blushing at the compliment. "W-why, thank you..."

"How d'ya hit it _straight_ at the spine?" Len exclaimed, curiosity visible in his eyes. His cheeks were puffed out.

"A-actually..." she scratched her head in slight embarrassment. "I try darts in my bedroom..."

"Uwoh! Nice one! One down, and it's a point for you!" Rin exclaimed. "I think... Nope! It's your point!"

"That's amazing, Miku-chan!" Luka said, tilting her head and smiling. Miku felt heat rush through her cheeks, bowing down so that they wouldn't see. Even though she was dubbed the "genius" in nearly everything, she didn't really like being praised too much.

"T-thank you..." she said, adding a silent and tiny _"I guess"_ at the end.

They finally got one. Now how many lives were lost while they were on the move? Realizing that they were wasting time, Luka gasped.

"Hey, we mustn't go on like this, right? We must move quickly, right?" she asked. The others nodded and they all set to a run, with the tealette giving directions where to inspect for ghosts next.

Ten steps after, they felt the whole world spinning around them, making them dizzy, losing sight. The sensation of falling into a deep pit made them scream loudly, reaching out their hands in front of themselves, though there was nothing to be reached. The air around them felt heavy and compressed, enveloping them very tightly as they felt like falling...or drowning of some sort...

Next thing they knew, after opening their tightly-shut eyes, they were in a different, unfamiliar place.

* * *

=:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:=

___[Time Left]_

= 365d : 17h =

___[Players' Status]_

= Luka Megurine =

___Captured_: 0

___Status_: Alive

= Miku Hatsune =

___Captured_: 1

___Status_: Alive

= Len Kagamine =

___Captured_: 0

___Status_: Alive

= Rin Kagamine =

___Captured_: 0

___Status_: Alive

=:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:=

* * *

_Our search took two hours...until we found the ghost..._

_It was Miku Hatsune's hit. No, we aren't in a competition of who captured more than the others. No. For us, this would be just a task. Not a Game. The captures by us should total to a hundred before the time limit goes out. The numbers were just recorded by the dreadful Time Master, in which we didn't care. We only cared about the world's fate, as well as our lives' statuses._

_What we worry for right now is...where are we?_

* * *

_AruuYuda-ShoriKyuyu: Yaaaay. Reviews, please? I will really love you for that!_


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